by Dave Birkett, USA TODAY Sports

by Dave Birkett, USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson said he suffered nerve damage from two big hits in a September loss to the Minnesota Vikings that's made it tough for him to grip the football.

Johnson, who missed practice all of last week and hasn't practiced this week because of a lingering knee injury, said the nerve problems have subsided though he's still dealing with some aftereffects.

"Taking those hits, they're real violent," Johnson said. "They definitely have a lot of lingering impact on whether it be your neck or your head in (Jahvid Best's) case. It can do a lot of stuff."

Johnson dropped a touchdown pass late in the first half of the Lions' 20-13 loss to the Vikings at Ford Field when safety Harrison Smith hit him in the sternum with his right shoulder. In the fourth quarter, Johnson took a helmet-to-helmet hit from linebacker Chad Greenway that knocked him temporarily out of the game.

Johnson said he suffered a concussion from the Greenway hit, though Lions coach Jim Schwartz said for the second time today that wasn't the case.

Greenway was fined $21,000 for the hit.

The Lions, who travel to Minnesota this Sunday, had a bye week after the Vikings loss, but Johnson dropped at least three passes over the next three games.

He had a touchdown pass glance off his fingers in an Oct. 28 win over the Seahawks, dropped a crossing route that hit him square in the hands in a Monday night loss to the Bears, and in last week's win at Jacksonville, Johnson was tackled at the 1-yard line after a 38-yard second-quarter gain when he said he couldn't get a good enough grip on the ball to reach it across the goal line.

While some wonder if the hits by Smith and Greenway have made Johnson reluctant to go across the middle, Johnson said that isn't the case.

"No, actually had some nerve damage so that was kind of messing up my grip a little bit," he said. "Not to blame it on that, but I think that the concussion maybe could have had something to do with some of that damage I had going on."

Johnson said the nerve injury was like a stinger where he had shooting pain down his arm.

Asked if it's still affecting him now, Johnson said, "It's definitely coming back, feeling a lot better, but it's the middle of the season."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the nerve damage has not been a contributing factor to the knee injury that's limited Johnson the last 2 1/2 weeks.

Against the Jaguars, Johnson said he only ran select routes because he couldn't push off his sore left knee without pain. He took painkillers before the game and finished with a team-high seven catches for 129 yards.

"He's obviously been effective regardless," Schwartz said. "He's had a bunch of different things come up this year, particularly his knees, but he goes out and affects the game the way that he does. That's no different than Adrian Peterson coming off an ACL and still finding a way to be effective. Great players can do that."

Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said Johnson's injury didn't limit his playcalling last against the Jaguars. Johnson said he spent the past few days in the weight room working the muscles around his knee, and that he's "definitely feeling better" now than he was a week ago.

"Calvin at any percent that he is on the field is a bonus for me or anybody else," Linehan said. "It benefits us all."